Bird of Paradise
by Fortune Maiden
Summary: An idea suddenly came to her, and the words were out of her mouth before she could think them through. "Say, Lauriam,"she said. "Would you, maybe, like to gather Lux together today?" Lauriam looked bemused for a moment, but before Elrena could backpedal and play the invite off as a joke, he got up. "Sure."


**A/N**: I wanted to write cute fluffy Elrena/Lauriam fic because I am a sap. Not sure if I overdid it ^^"

(also this is a Lauriam & Elrena fic. FF doesn't have an Elrena tag at the moment so using Larxene's for now. Will update whenever FF does haha)

* * *

**Bird of Paradise**

_An idea suddenly came to her, and the words were out of her mouth before she could think them through. "Say, Lauriam,"she said. "Would you, maybe, like to gather Lux together today?" _

_Lauriam looked bemused for a moment, but before Elrena could backpedal and play the invite off as a joke, he got up. _

_"Sure."_

* * *

They ran into each other by pure coincidence in front of the fountain. It was almost funny how coincidences worked like that. If Elrena hadn't overslept that morning, and rushed out of the house In a hurry, taking whatever shortcuts she could rather than her usual route, she might never have seen Lauriam that day.

But there he was, sitting by the fountain with a little green book in his hand, and a stern expression on his face. He hadn't noticed her at first. It was only when she pondered on whether or not to call out to him, that she stepped forward a little too hastily and accidentally caught his eye.

"Elrena," he said and the harsh expression faded away into a kind one. "It's been a while. You're out of breath. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Elrena replied, straightening up. "I just overslept this morning. It's nice to see you again, Lauriam."

"Likewise."

After their first meeting, Lauriam had given Elrena his contact information. She had used it once to call him out to that house, but since then, they had drifted back into their separate lives. From time to time though, she had wondered what he was up to.

"Have you had any luck…since last time?" she asked. Lauriam shook his head.

"I've been exploring the worlds some more, but so far nothing," he said. "How about you?"

"No, I'm sorry," Elrena said. A silence threatened to fall over them, so she added, "I have been asking around though."

"I see. Thank you, I appreciate it."

"I hope we find her soon." Elrena hadn't been friends with Strelitizia, so she hadn't given the girl's sudden disappearance one day much thought past the initial surprise. It was unfortunate to lose a good teammate, but Strelitizia's whereabouts weren't any of Elrena's business. It hadn't occurred to her that something bad could have happened, or that someone would be worried. Elrena didn't even know she had a brother.

But when she saw that brother dive headfirst into the first clue he could find, and cry out her name so fervently, it awoke something in her. She had initially only taken interest in the mystery to satisfy her own curiosity, but the sorrow that appeared in his eyes back then genuinely made Elrena want to help.

It was because of that that Elrena continued to pass by that house every day in hopes of catching another glimpse of Strelitzia's apparition. She wondered if Lauriam did that as well.

She considered asking, but she didn't want to dredge up any more sad memories.

"Are you waiting for someone here?" She said instead. Briefly, she wondered if Lauriam had reached out to anyone else to help search for Strelitzia.

"No," he replied. "I was just reading something." He held up his book, but tucked it away before Elrena could make out the lettering on the cover. "How about you? Gathering Lux today?"

"Yes, I was planning to," Elrena said, but as she looked around the empty plaza, she felt a little discouraged. "I overslept though so it seems that most of the teams have gone out already."

Not that she couldn't gather Lux by herself. She was a decent enough fighter, and if she were by herself, she wouldn't have to hold anything back. But fighting Heartless alone was pretty boring.

Maybe she could just skip a day. Take the opportunity to talk to Lauriam a little instead.

Instead an idea suddenly came to her, and the words were out of her mouth before she could think them through. "Say, Lauriam,"she said. "Would you, maybe, like to gather Lux together today?"

Lauriam looked bemused for a moment, but before Elrena could backpedal and play the invite off as a joke, he got up.

"Sure."

* * *

This had been a huge mistake.

The thought mercilessly ran circles through Elrena's mind as she walked through the woods of Wonderland. The woods were dense and dreary, and the heartless in them infuriatingly sparse.

She didn't even like Wonderland. The postings on the missions board should have been enough incentive for her to take the day off and try again tomorrow. But she'd just had to open her big mouth, and Strelitzia's older brother just _had _to accept her thoughtless invitation.

He calmly walked beside her, looking around. There had been some attempts at small talk between them, but the most words exchanged were warnings of approaching Heartless that Elrena dispatched before it could even get close.

The forest's humidity was starting to affect her hair. Elrena sighed for what must have been the fiftieth time that hour and patted it back down into place. Lauriam's hair was somehow perfect. That didn't seem fair. It was frizzier than hers.

"It's awfully quiet today," he suddenly said. "It's been a while since I came out to collect Lux. I'm a little disappointed."

_You and me both, _Elrena thought bitterly. "It's not usually like this. Other parties must have gotten here first."

"Yes," Lauriam hummed thoughtfully, and looked off into the distance again. Eager not to let another conversation die in infancy though, Elrena continued.

"A while, huh? What do you typically do if not collect Lux?"

"I've been busy with some Colosseum events."

"Oh? Is that fun?" She'd been following the announcements and the thought of fighting against other Keyblade wielders enthralled her, but she had yet to try it herself.

"I suppose," Lauriam said somewhat absently. "A little tiring at times."

"I see." Elrena wondered why he'd keep doing it if it tired him out, but she refrained from asking. When she'd first met Lauriam, her Chirithy had referred to him as some sort of leader. She still knew nothing about him outside of his relation to her old teammate, but she could sense a certain air of importance about him. He must have been pretty high up in his Union.

And yet he still accepted her invitation to gather Lux together. Was he just humoring her because she knew his sister?

Lauriam must have sensed her unease, because he suddenly looked right at her with a gentle smile. "It's nice to go back to basics and gather Lux once in a while though."

"Sure," Elrena agreed. "Though I doubt we'll get much at this rate."

"I wouldn't say that quite yet. If the usual spots have all been cleaned out, what if we try an unusual spot?" he replied, and gestured for her to follow him off the path, to a deeper part of the forest than Elrena had explored previously. Almost immediately, the stench of darkness became palpable, and Heartless of all types began appear around them.

Elrena summoned her Keyblade and crouched into a fighting stance. Beside her, Lauriam took in the sight of the growing Heartless horde with a calm smile.

"See? You find a lot of interesting things when you step into the shadows," he said, and summoned his own Starlight Keyblade. "What do you say we make this a competition? See who can defeat more Heartless?"

Elrena took in the numbers. The trees in this area were fairly close together and the undergrowth wasn't cleared out. This sounded like it could be really fun.

"I'm not sure about this," she said timidly. She wouldn't be able to hold back in a situation like this.

"I'd heard you were quite the fighter," Lauriam said, unruffled. "But if this is too much for you, don't worry. I'll protect you."

Elena frowned. "I can fight," she said, then for the first time that day, she grinned. "You're on!"

And with that, they both lunged. As Elrena struck down any monsters that dared to come close to her, she snuck glances over to Lauriam. She was surprised at how gracefully he moved around the foliage, and deftly struck down Heartless with his Starlight. It was like watching an elegant dance. Elrena's initial impression hadn't been wrong, she decided. He _was _powerful. Maybe even more so than the aces of her Union.

But Elrena was no slouch either. She may not have been anyone special in her Union, but she _was _a Dandelion for a reason. And she _hated_ to lose. So she let a sadistic smirk reveal itself on her face and let out a savage hoot of laughter as she plowed through the horde. Lauriam may have been precise, but Elrena was _fast_. She cut down Heartless left and right, counting them up all the while gleefully. Lauriam had no idea who he was up against when he challenged her!

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw him turn to her, a frown tainting his fair features. In that moment, she remembered he was watching her, and the alarm caused her to trip over a root, and fall back.

His frown wasn't for her however. "Look out!" he yelled, in time for Elrena to notice the Blue Rhapsody behind her launching a blizzard attack. There wasn't time for to dodge though. She quickly raised her Keyblade in front of her as a shield, only for something to suddenly spin past her, collide with the Heartless in the nick of time and send the shard of ice aimed at her up into a tree.

Lauriam's Keyblade twirled in the air before snapping back in his hand. "That was a close one," he said nonchalantly and extended his free hand to her. "Are you alright?"

Elrena's cheeks flushed red as she took his hand and let him pull her up. Noticing another approaching Heartless though, she simply pointed her Keyblade and launched a well-aimed blizzard spell of her own.

"Yes," she told him.

"That's good. I would hate to have to fight all these Heartless off by myself."

Elrena tilted her head. "if this is too much for you, don't worry. I'll protect you."

"My, my," Lauriam said with theatrical sigh. "Cocky words from one who just needed rescuing." Though his tone remained light, his eyes carefully scanned her for any injuries before turning his attention back to the Heartless.

There weren't any other incidents after that, though Elrena became more aware of Lauriam's attentive gaze on her, and found it harder to concentrate. She still racked up an impressive amount of Lux though, and when Lauriam's Heartless total came up five less than hers, she was unable the hide the glee on her face.

"Congratulations," he said.

"Do I get some sort of prize?"

"Funny story. I hadn't expected to lose, so I'll have to think about it."

Elrena just rolled her eyes at his teasing and held back a laugh.

"I must say though," Lauriam said, "you seemed a little different in battle. Somewhat…wild?"

The smile immediately faded from her face. "Oh, um, yeah," she said looking at the ground. "I guess I just got a little carried away…" She knew she could sometimes show a more sadistic side in battle, and the prospect of taking down so many Heartless in a competition had excited her (especially against someone so strong). Most people she teamed up with found that side of her creepy. Only Strelitzia hadn't really seemed to mind, though looking back, she was probably just too shy to say otherwise.

"It was quite a sight to see. You really are as strong as they say," Lauriam told her. "I'll have to be careful not to cross paths with you in the Colosseum."

Elrena's ears burned. "I don't think I'd stand a chance against you," she blurted out. "The way you fight is so…" She didn't want to say elegant. She needed to salvage what little dignity she had left. "Efficient."

Lauriam stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, then looked away visibly biting the inside of his cheek, as the corners of his lips curled upwards.

"Don't laugh!" Elrena cried out, and buried her face in her hands. Why was she so _bad_ _at this_?

"My apologies. I just don't think I've ever gotten a compliment like that before."

"It wasn't a compliment," Elrena insisted, face growing warmer every second. Her Chirithy was _never _going to let her live this down. "We…we got our Lux, so we should just go. Now"

Without really thinking, Elrena took off. She could vaguely hear Lauriam's footsteps behind her, but she ran a good distance before suddenly realizing the forest around her was still unfamiliar. She frowned. She had readily followed Lauriam off the path before and mentally tracked how far they'd walked, but with all the running around they did while they fought, she wasn't quite sure where they were anymore. The direction she ran off in felt right…but had it really been?

For a moment, fear gripped her. Lauriam didn't sound close behind anymore. She'd run in a straight line, so he couldn't have lost her, could he? No worse, he couldn't have left her, right?

_Of course not,_ Elrena assured herself. _Strelitzia's older brother wouldn't do that. _

She considered calling out her Chirithy so she wouldn't be alone, but decided against it, and started walking back. Or rather, she took two steps back before a streak of bright color in the otherwise dark green forest caught her attention. Sunlight was starting to filter through the trees.

_What's that? _She thought and went towards it.

Elrena's breath caught in her throat when she stepped out of thicket and suddenly found herself in a field of unusually shaped flowers. She'd never seen this type before. It had three brightly colored petals and three blue petals fused together into a single bud. The flower came in orange, red, and yellow varieties.

"Wow," Elrena exclaimed. "Lauriam! Lauriam! If you're there, come take a look!"

"Elrena?" His voice was an even greater comfort than the flowers. "Thank the light. Don't run off like that again." He chided, rushing over to her. If he had a further lecture for her though, the sight of the flowers cut it off. His eyes grew wide.

"They're so beautiful," Elrena said, crouching down to touch one. "Only in Wonderland, I suppose." Maybe this world had some nice parts to it after all. "Right? Lauriam?" Elrena suddenly noticed he hadn't followed her. When she turned back to look at him, his gaze was distant.

"Hey, are you alright?" Elrena jumped up. Lauriam didn't seem to hear her, though when she approached and lightly tugged at his sleeve, he jolted back to attention. However, Elrena didn't miss the sadness that flickered across his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what came over me." The gentlemanly facade returned, as though it never left. He walked past Elrena over to the flowers and bent down. "What a nice surprise to see these here. Wonderland really does live up to its name."

"Do you know what kind of flowers they are?" Elrena asked.

Lauriam paused a moment before answering. "They're Birds of Paradise."

"Oh, I get it," Elrena said. "They do kind of look like birds." She couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was suddenly off with Lauriam. Should she ask? He seemed to be trying to hide it though.

"It's a very pretty flower," Lauriam agreed quietly, before standing up and turning back to her. The sorrow may have disappeared, but his face still appeared too tense. "Shall we head back now for real?"

"Um, sure," Elrena said, still watching him carefully. She had to ask. "Are you sure you're alright though? I'm sorry for running off before. That was foolish."

"No, I shouldn't have laughed at you," Lauriam replied. Whatever casualness there was between them before seemed to be gone though.

Then, without warning, he suddenly reached down and plucked one of the yellow Birds of Paradise from the ground. He held it out to her with a charming smile. He always had such a nice smile, Elrena thought, even if it was just part of his chivalrous mask. "For you, my dear."

"Huh?"

"You won our little challenge from before. And thus your reward; a lovely flower for a lovely lady."

How could he say such things so easily?

"Thank you," Elrena said softly, and accepted the flower. It really was so pretty. It was a little silly to think of it as a reward for her win, but just holding it made her feel happy. She just wished she could spread that happiness to Lauriam as well. "Lauriam, I—

"I'm alright, I promise," he assured her. "Today was really fun. Thank you for inviting me into your party."

Elrena found herself unable to meet his eyes, and let Lauriam lead the way back to Daybreak Town.

* * *

"You _like_ him!" Chirithy sang that night. "You really, really like him."

"I do not," Elrena snapped not even looking up from her book. The flower she'd received sat in a tall clear vase on her desk. Once in a while, she'd sneak glances at it.

"_Uh-huh_," Chirithy purred and tried to jump to see over the desk at Elrena's book. "If that's true, why are you browsing an encyclopedia about flowers?"

Elrena tried to cover up the image on the page, but Chirithy just stared at her with an absolutely _elated_ expression.

"It's not like that," Elrena insisted. "Flowers are such a pain to care for, but this one's actually interesting. So I want it to last."

"I'm _sure_."

"That's all it is!" Chirithy could tease her all he wanted. Elrena continued to leaf through the book. Lauriam had called it a Bird of Paradise. Her book didn't have it listed under "B" or in the index though. So all that was left was to go page by page, and compare the photos.

She was more than halfway through when she finally found a match. The version in her book was white, but the shape was unmistakable.

"I found it!" Elrena said triumphantly, and lowered the book so Chirithy could see. "This is it right?"

"Looks like it. So? How do we care for it?"

"Let's see…" Elrena looked at the text under the photo and immediately the smile on her face froze. In large bold letter, the true name of the Bird of Paradise was printed.

_Strelitzia Alba_

Suddenly, Lauriam's sad distant gaze made too much sense. Elrena wanted to kick herself.

"Strelitzia, huh," Chirithy said quietly.

"Yeah," Elrena whispered. Strelitzia must have been named for this flower. Did she like them, Elrena wondered. Were they her favorites?

_Strelitzia, where on earth did you go?_ Elrena thought, a mixture or anger and sadness coursing through her. Why did she suddenly feel like she had so many things to tell that girl? Why did she want to find her so badly?

"Are you okay?" Chirithy asked, pressing against Elrena's side, and laying his large head on her lap. She stroked his fur softly. With her other hand, she lifted the yellow flower from its vase and gazed at it longingly.

"I'm fine. I just wish there was something I could do for him…"

* * *

If there was one thing Elrena had learned from Strelitzia after the fact, it was to be upfront with her feelings. She wasn't going to shyly watch someone from afar and wait for that illusory perfect moment to talk to them. She was going to talk to them, no matter how much her heart pounded and her stomach churned at the idea.

As she waited on the steps, her fingers kept reaching for the little white box in her pocket as if to make sure it was still there. Her Chirithy sat on her lap, his weight a steadying comfort.

He jumped up when he spotted her guest approaching though, and quickly disappeared with nothing more than an encouraging "Good luck". Suddenly Elrena wanted to run away.

"Hey there," Lauriam said and sat down beside her. "What's going on?" She immediately caught the pressing tone in his otherwise casual question, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I don't have anything to report," she said. "I called you out here for a different reason. I hope that's alright?"

He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Of course," he replied. "Something the matter?"

"I have something for you," she said hastily, fingers clutching the box in her pocket. "For the other day. As a thank you."

Lauriam looked at her quizzically. "You didn't have to get me anything. I told you, it was fun for me too."

"I know, but, I wanted to…" There was no backing down now. "Close your eyes."

Lauriam chuckled humorlessly, but followed her instructions. Elrena pulled the box out of her pocket, and opened it. She took out the trinket inside, giving it one last glance over in the process, and leaned forward. Lauriam tensed slightly as she pulled his vest towards her, but he remained still as she carefully pinned her gift onto his jacket. She pulled back.

"Okay, you can open them."

Lauriam did and immediately looked down at his vest. Elrena smiled softly as he took in her handiwork. Fastened to the black cloth, was a small wooden pin. It was a shaped into flower with three orange petals and three blue petals.

"A Strelitzia…" he breathed out.

"It's her flower isn't it?" Elrena said. "I know she's not here right now, but I thought if you something that reminded you of her close by, maybe you wouldn't feel as lonely. So I made you that…"

As she explained her reasoning, the churning in her stomach grew worse. Wait what? She _wanted _to remind him of Strelitiza? She _wanted_ to remind him of his _missing_ little sister? Oh no. No, no, _no_. What was she _thinking!_?

"I mean, not that you need a _reminder _or anything, but I thought, maybe… I'm sorry, please forget I said anything; if you hate it, please just burn it!"

"You _made _this?" Lauriam asked in disbelief, still staring down at the pin. He traced the shape with his finger.

"Oh, yes. I'm pretty decent with a knife so…" she trailed off into a shrug. She had always liked making crafts. It took her a few tries to get the flower's shape right, and a few more to get the colors perfect. Maybe she could have made it a little bigger, but she was happy with the end result overall.

"Do you…like it?" Elrena asked cautiously, when Lauriam continued to stare at it. She felt the tension leave her body as a smile—a real one—slowly spread across his face. It was obviously meant for the girl he saw in the pin, but seeing it made Elrena feel good all the same.

"Thank you," Lauriam whispered. "I…_thank you_. I'm truly touched." He placed his hand over the pin, pressing it closer to his body.

Elrena smiled.

"A lovely flower for a lovely gentleman," she quipped, and decided that maybe she had done something right after all.

_~Fin~_

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Feedback is a writer's lifeblood and is always really loved and appreciated!

Halfway through writing this, I realized I really have no clue how to actually write Elrena because her two scenes in UX paint her as...really sweet? Maybe a bit of a loner, and maybe with a snarkier side towards her Chirithy, but still not very Larxene-like at all. I tried to give her a little of her future self though with the battle lust and crafts (because I am still not over the hilariously elaborate ice labyrinth). It's fun to explore her still mysterious character in different ways. I hope this is okay though...

Honestly I'm just really interested in finding out what happens to her that turns her into Larxene. (I'm anticipating a lot of pain and tragedy. UX is surprisingly dark when it wants to be.)

Also as a side note: Larxene's knives do actually kinda remind me of yellow Strelitzias. Probably a coincidence.


End file.
